Scenic Highway Statue Bay Cyclone Marcia reconstruction works by Dan Toon

Abstract

In February 2015, Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia crossed the Queensland coast north of Yeppoon in Central Queensland, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and the community. The singularly most significant occurrence of damage to infrastructure in the Shire was the undermining of the coastal Scenic Highway at Statue Bay and the concurrent failure of the steep cliff-face above. The reconstruction of the road and the cliff-face has been the most challenging infrastructure project ever undertaken by the Livingstone Shire Council, and has involved * the construction of a mechanically stabilised ocean protection wall * reconstruction of the road, and * the stabilisation of the cliff-face with soil nails and shotcrete facing. The project was largely funded by Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) funding under the administration of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA). The major issues encountered and dealt with on the project were: * environmental approvals for construction in a coastal marine and tidal environment * detailed geotechnical investigations and design for two adjacent but very different engineering problems * intrusion of soil nails into private property requiring the acquisition of volumetric easements, within very constrained timeframes * the logistical challenges of constructing the two separate components of the restoration works on a constrained site * impractical deadlines imposed by NDRRA funding agreements * the discovery of very poor and unforgiving geology, after the commencement of construction * community expectations and annoyance at the diversion of significant volumes of traffic through a residential area * dust and noise nuisance to adjacent residents from the drilling and construction processes * Termination for Convenience of the construction contractor and completion of the works by Council to ensure completion within NDRRA timeframes This paper outlines the remediation of Statue Bay from the initial damage cause by Cyclone Marcia through the approval processes and design of the restoration solution, to the construction of the approved scope of work; highlighting the challenges of managing a complex infrastructure project in conjunction with community expectations.